This invention relates to a thread storage and supply device for textile machines comprising a storage drum which is nonrotatably journaled at the free end of an axle, which axle is prevented from rotating by means of a laterally displaced journal pin which extends parallel to the longitudinal direction of said axle and is rotatably positioned in a rotatably journaled disc. The device further comprises a thread supply means which is journaled on said axle, which supply means can be set in rotation and which winds the thread upon the storage drum. The rotatably journaled disc is connected, for the purpose of synchronous rotation, to the rotating thread supply means by a connecting pin which is rigidly mounted on said thread supply means and which passes through a radial slot in said rotatably journaled disc. The thread supply means includes a corotational channel for the thread.
A thread supply and storage device is already known (see German publication Offenlegungsschrift No.2 037 031) in which the thread supply means includes a support sleeve which is rotatably journaled on the axle. At the one end thereof facing the storage drum, an annular support plate is positioned whose outer rim projects beyond the winding member and supports a thread eye at this location. At the other end remote from the storage drum, there is positioned a short connecting pin which projects axially and which engages the rotatably journaled disc. The channel for guiding the thread is provided in the form of a cylindrical aperture in the wall of the support sleeve extending from the storage drum remote end over approximately three-fourths of its length. It terminates there in a discharge nozzle which extends downwardly toward the thread eye from the wall of the support sleeve in an outwardly inclined direction. The thread can pass into the opening of the channel remote of the storage drum through a recess in the rotatably journaled disc. This opening is disposed and designed such that it is aligned with the channel opening in each position of the two synchronous, asymmetrically rotating elements: the rotatably journaled disc and the support sleeve. This known device is very expensive in construction in view of the thread guide. The thread supply means requires a channel aperture in a sleeve wall, and the use of a discharge nozzle as well as a support disc with a thread eye. All of these parts must be manufactured separately and assembled. The rotatably journaled disc requires an opening of its own which must have relatively large dimensions. This necessitates an individual production cycle as well. Since perfect passage of the thread with as little friction as possible is important for the mode of function of the device, all parts must be processed and assembled with particular care. The result is a considerable expenditure of work and a corresponding increase in costs. Since storage and supply devices of this type are required in large numbers for modern textile machines, this expenditure plays a considerable economic role.
The object of the invention is to provide a thread storage and supply device of the type recited at the outset which demonstrates a construction which is both simple and economical.
This object is accomplished in accordance with the invention in that the connecting pin contains the channel for the thread.
Using a tubular body as the connecting pin results neither in a considerable increase in costs nor in the time necessary for assembly, since the connecting pin had to be manufactured and assembled separately in any case. Even if an aperture had been provided in the body of the thread supply means in place of the tubular connecting pin in order to provide a possibility for emergence of the thread, the requirements made on the tolerance exactness and surface quality of this aperture are considerably lower than for an aperture which forms the channel directly. An essential advantage is that the connecting pin passes through the rotatably journaled disc in a radial slot and acts on the walls thereof so as to transmit the rotary movement. If the connecting pin contains a channel, this channel is accessible at all times for the thread and another opening in the rotatably journaled disc is not necessary, thereby leading to a further reduction in construction costs in an economical manner.
In an advantageous further development of the inventive device, the connecting pin with the channel for the thread extends from the side of the rotatably journaled disc which is remote of the storage drum to the level of the storage drum in a continuous manner and runs parallel to the axle somewhat outside the imaginary extension of the storage drum external surface. This embodiment has two essential advantages as compared to the known device described at the outset: on the one hand, the thread is transported in a straight line from the location where it enters the device up to the storage drum, thereby producing no deviations in the path of the thread which would lead to friction. Moreover, the construction of the device is simplified considerably. The connecting pin designed as a tubular body of sufficient length is a structural element which is simple in manufacture and assembly and also eliminates elements which are considerably more difficult to manufacture and assemble, i.e. an inclined discharge nozzle and a thread eye. The connecting pin can be secured in or on the thread supply means in a simple way, since an aperture provided for the pin is continuous in any case and thus easy to provide.